Grade by Grade
A. Creating Canada, 1850–1890 · Creating Canada, 1850–1890

The Road to Confederation and the BNA Act, 1864–1867

A3 A2 A1About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe the Charlottetown, Quebec and London conferences and the British North America Act of 1867.
  • I can explain how the BNA Act divided powers between the federal and provincial governments.
  • I can compare the perspectives of supporters and opponents of Confederation, and of groups left out.
  • I can compare who had a voice in 1867 with who has a voice today.

Words to know

conference
A formal meeting where leaders discuss and decide things.
British North America Act (BNA Act)
The law passed by the British Parliament in 1867 that created Canada. Today it is called the Constitution Act, 1867.
federal government
The national government in Ottawa, responsible for matters affecting the whole country.
provincial government
The government of a province, responsible for local matters such as education.
constitution
The basic rules for how a country is governed.
anti-Confederate
A person who opposed joining Confederation.

Let's start with a question

If you were designing a brand-new country, what would you put in its rulebook? Who would be invited to help write it?

In 1864, a few dozen colonial politicians, all of them men and almost all of British or French background, sat down to design Canada. The rules they wrote still shape your life today, including who runs your school.

Three conferences

  1. Charlottetown Conference (September 1864). Leaders from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island met to discuss a Maritime union. Leaders from the Province of Canada asked to attend and proposed a larger union of all the colonies. The Maritime leaders were interested.
  2. Quebec Conference (October 1864). Delegates wrote the 72 Resolutions, the plan for Confederation: a federal government plus provincial governments.
  3. London Conference (December 1866 to early 1867). Delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick finalized the plan with the British government.

The British Parliament then passed the British North America Act. It took effect on July 1, 1867, creating the Dominion of Canada with four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. John A. Macdonald became the first prime minister.

The road to ConfederationCharlottetownSept. 1864Maritime uniongrows biggerQuebecOct. 186472 ResolutionswrittenLondonDec. 1866–1867plan finishedwith BritainBNA ActJuly 1, 18674 provinces:Canada begins
The three conferences in order. It took about three years to go from a meeting about a small Maritime union to a new country.

What the BNA Act set up

  • Parliament in Ottawa, with an elected House of Commons (seats based on representation by population) and an appointed Senate (seats based on regions).
  • The monarch (Queen Victoria) remained the head of state, represented by the governor general.
  • Federal powers (section 91) included defence, trade, money and banking, the mail, criminal law, and "Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians" (the law's wording).
  • Provincial powers (section 92) included hospitals, local works, property and civil rights, and education (section 93). Section 93 also protected existing Catholic and Protestant school rights.
  • Language (section 133): English and French could be used in Parliament and in the Quebec legislature, and in federal courts.

Britain still controlled Canada's foreign affairs. Canada was self-governing at home, but not fully independent.

BNA Act, 1867Federal (Ottawa)defence, trade, moneymail, criminal lawFirst Nations, reservesProvincialeducation, hospitalsproperty and civil rightslocal works, towns
How the BNA Act divided powers between the federal and provincial governments (a few examples of each).

Who said no, and who was not asked?

Opponents:

  • In Nova Scotia, journalist and politician Joseph Howe led the anti-Confederates. Many Nova Scotians felt they had been pushed in without a vote, and feared high taxes and control by central Canada. In the first federal election in 1867, anti-Confederates won 18 of Nova Scotia's 19 seats. Howe went to London to try to get Nova Scotia out, but failed. In 1869, after Canada offered "better terms" (more money), he joined Macdonald's cabinet.
  • In Canada East, Antoine-Aimé Dorion and the Rouges argued that Confederation would leave French Canadians a minority in a large English-speaking country. Cartier argued the opposite: a province of Quebec would protect French-Canadian language, religion and civil law.
  • Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland decided not to join in 1867.

Not asked:

  • First Nations, Métis and Inuit were not invited to the conferences, although the new country claimed authority over First Nations and their reserves in section 91.
  • Women could not be delegates and could not vote. One woman's view survives: Mercy Coles, daughter of a PEI delegate, kept a diary of the social side of the Quebec Conference, a rare primary source from a woman's point of view.
  • Only men who owned enough property could vote. That included some Black men, but left out most working people.
GroupPossible perspective in 1867
Ontario Reformers (George Brown)Pleased: rep by pop, and a path to the West
Quebec Bleus (Cartier)Supportive: Quebec controls its own schools, civil law and language
Quebec Rouges (Dorion)Opposed: French Canadians become a minority
Nova Scotia anti-Confederates (Howe)Opposed: forced in without a vote; fear of taxes and central Canada
First NationsNot consulted; new government claims power over their lands
WomenExcluded from deciding and voting
Different perspectives on Confederation.
Worked example

Modelled example: Comparing Cartier and Dorion

Both were French-Canadian leaders in 1864–67. How could they look at the same plan and disagree?

  1. Find their shared goal: both wanted to protect French-Canadian language, faith and laws.
  2. Cartier's reasoning: a province of Quebec with its own legislature, controlling education and civil law, would protect those things better than the deadlocked Province of Canada.
  3. Dorion's reasoning: in a big federation, French Canadians would be a small minority in Parliament, and the central government would be too strong.
  4. What shaped their views? Their parties (Bleus vs Rouges), their allies, and different predictions about the future.
  5. Evidence: Both made speeches in the 1865 Confederation debates; reading both is how a historian sees the disagreement.

They shared the same goal but predicted different consequences. Perspective is not only who you are; it is also what you believe will happen.

Today's name for the BNA Act

The BNA Act is now called the Constitution Act, 1867. In 1982, Canada brought its constitution fully home and added the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Métis and Inuit. Much of the 1867 division of powers still works the same way today.

Just for fun

Funny-but-true: when the Canadian delegates sailed into Charlottetown in September 1864, a travelling circus was in town. Hotel rooms were hard to find, so some delegates stayed on board their steamship. Canada was planned while the circus was in town! 🎪

Hands-on activity

Who does what? Sorting today's services

You need: paper, scissors (with a grown-up nearby) or just a pencil, and about 10 minutes.

  1. Write these on separate slips or as a list: your school, a passport, the army, a hospital, mail delivery, money (coins and bills), driver's licences, criminal laws.
  2. Sort them into Federal and Provincial piles using the BNA Act diagram.
  3. Check with a grown-up. Talk about one that surprised you.
  4. Bonus: why might it make sense for education to be provincial in a country with different languages and religions?

Answers: Federal: passport, army, mail, money, criminal laws. Provincial: school, hospital, driver's licences. Bonus: provinces could make schools fit their own language and religious communities, which mattered especially to Quebec.

Your turn

1

What was the original purpose of the Charlottetown Conference?

2

What were the 72 Resolutions?

3

Which four provinces formed Canada on July 1, 1867?

4

Name two federal powers and two provincial powers in the BNA Act.

5

What did section 133 say about language?

6

Who led the anti-Confederates in Nova Scotia?

7

Which two colonies decided not to join in 1867?

More practice: warm-up

1

Who was Canada's first prime minister?

2

Which parliament passed the BNA Act?

3

What is the BNA Act called today?

4

Is the Senate elected or appointed?

5

Who kept a diary of the Quebec Conference's social events?

More practice: on your own

1

Why did many Nova Scotians feel Confederation was unfair?

2

Explain how the 1867 federal election result shows Nova Scotians' opinion.

3

Why was section 93 important for religious minorities?

4

Why is Mercy Coles's diary valuable, even though it mostly describes dinners and dances?

5

Why is it significant that First Nations were not consulted, even though section 91 gave Parliament power over "Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians"?

Challenge

1

Compare who could take part in creating Canada in 1867 with who can take part in decisions today. Name one change and one continuity.

2

Was Confederation a "compact" (agreement) between equals? Argue one side using evidence.

3

Joseph Howe opposed Confederation and then joined the federal cabinet in 1869. Does this make him inconsistent? Explain.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

When did the BNA Act take effect?

2.

Which power did the BNA Act give to the provinces?

3.

Where was the plan of 72 Resolutions written?

4.

Who argued that Confederation would leave French Canadians a minority?

5.

Which group was NOT represented at the Confederation conferences?

6.

What did section 133 of the BNA Act protect?

7.

Which colony elected anti-Confederates to 18 of its 19 federal seats in 1867?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Students describe significant developments in creating Canada (A3), compare perspectives on Confederation (A2), and compare 1867's limited voice with today's democracy (A1).

How to help: Do the federal/provincial sort with real examples from your household (health card = provincial, passport = federal). Talk about July 1: what does Canada Day mean to different people in your family or community?

Sensitive point: Some people mark July 1 with celebration, others with reflection, because Confederation laid the groundwork for laws that harmed Indigenous peoples. Both responses can be discussed respectfully.

Common difficulties: Confusing the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences; thinking all four provinces were happy to join; thinking Canada became fully independent in 1867.